VIRGINIA P.I. BAND - Glass negative photogrpah. Public domain.

The tradition of brass bands in America starts in New Orleans, late 19th century. New Orleans brass bands could feature trumpets, trombones, clarinets, saxophones, sousaphones and percussion. The music played by these bands was a fusion between European military band music and African folk music brought to the Americas by west African slaves and the idiom played a significant role in the development of traditional jazz.